Nintendo 3DS Essential Games Guide

Today marks the official price drop for the Nintendo 3DS from $249.99 to $169.99…and many of you may be looking into making your purchase. I will break down my personal thoughts on what I would highly recommend as your first purchases.

– Best Fighting Game: Dead or Alive Dimensions

If I had to pick either Super Street Fighter IV 3d Edition and DOA Dimensions, it would easily be Dead or Alive Dimensions. While SSF IV is a great game, DOA Dimensions is a more refreshing fighter to get since many of us have already played SSF IV. The game has a great amount of gameplay that will surely keep you busy for a while. Whether you’re completing the game’s Chronicles mode (which will go through every DOA game’s storyline), the Arcade mode, Tag Challenge mode, Survival mode or Online mode, this is one game that will stay in your 3DS for a while.

– Best Shooting Game: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

The famous RE4/RE5 game mode now in portable 3D glory. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is a fun, addictive over-the-shoulder shooter that really showcases the 3DS’s graphical power. The game allows you to play as eight characters from the Resident Evil universe (unfortunately Leon isn’t one of them) while taking out the Majini and Los Illuminados solo or with a partner online. If you’re looking for a story, I’d look elsewhere…but if you’re looking for a fun shooting game for your new 3DS purchase, this would be it.

– Best Adventure Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

A true masterpiece remade with enhanced visuals and stereoscopic 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an absolute must-own. From the moment you start til the moment you reach the final battle with Ganondorf, this is simply a remarkable game that will not be forgotten. It’s lengthy adventure will keep you occupied for the rest of the summer.

– Best Racing Game: Ridge Racer 3D

Out of both Asphalt 3D and Ridge Racer 3D, Ridge Racer 3D is certainly the better racing game to go with. It’s drifting mechanics were always the highlight of the franchise and doing so in 3D is a sweet feeling. It’s campaign is extremely lengthy so there’s no worries in this department. Asphalt 3D wasn’t necessarily a terrible game as many critics put it out to be, but Ridge Racer 3D is much more polished.

– Best Simulator Game: Pilotwings Resort

The most relaxing game out of all the ones mentioned, Pilotwings Resort is a great game to have in your collection. While the game’s missions can get frustrating if you’re aiming for three stars, just simply completing the game is an easier and more relaxing task. All the vehicles have their own feel to them and mastering them will take some time but the game let’s you get accommodated via the Mission mode’s forgiving progression. You even get a Free Flight mode which let’s you free roam the island but within a certain time limit to find collectibles. These collectibles will earn you more time to free roam as well as more vehicles to free roam in. It’s not the lengthiest game, but it’s certainly addictive and replayable.

– Best Downloadable Game: Shantae Risky’s Revenge

Yes, I know, this is not a 3DS title, but it is by far the best game available on the eShop as a DSiWare title. Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is a masterfully crafted 2D Platform/Adventure that should not be missed by anyone. It’s animations are among the most fluid seen in a 2D Platformer and the game itself is challenging and enticing. If you enjoy adventure games along the reigns of Metroidvania, this is a must own.

There you have it 3DS newcomers. These are my personal picks for you to look into getting with your newly purchased 3DS and while I’m not telling you that you have to buy these, I’m strongly recommending these. Enjoy!

About Glacier928

Marcello is the founder, creator and editor-in-chief of GamersXtreme. His dedication and passion shows as he keeps gamers informed with daily news articles and provides truthful, honest opinions on all gaming related news. Having experience with video game design, as well as over 20 years of gaming under his belt, Marcello has always had a massive interest in the gaming society. Originally, he created GamersXtreme in the style of a magazine back in middle school. Today, he has taken what was created as a basic premise and has evolved it into the site it is today.

Glad to hear you agreed with the list! Dead or Alive Dimensions definitely deserves more attention than Super Street Fighter IV (which is still great) since people can play that on a console already. We haven’t seen a Dead or Alive game since the 360’s launch back in 2005!

Thanks! Shantae is an excellent platformer that I feel any 2D fan would love.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D may be receiving a lot of flak but I’m going to disagree with it. I personally find it a great title for the 3DS and if you have someone to co-op it with online, then I would say it’s worth the $40 price tag. While you could easily just pop on RE4 or RE5 to play Mercenaries, the game mode is so much fun that I would let it slide for justifying the price (especially since there’s not a great catalog of games yet).

I actually saw that I had a Spotpass notification today and had a feeling it was you but what are the chances? 😛

re mercs still has some online connecting issues but is still awesome to play. Zelda is always and will be # 1 3ds game ever. O yeah i forgot i’m kinda glad they didn’t put leon in re mercs cause it would make the game really bad! I mean could you imagine everytime you got online to play!!(lol) Everybody would be leon, pain in the butt for me anyways.

Great list but there is one glaring omission: Ghost Recon Shadow Wars. This is an awesome turn based strategy game like Advance Wars. This should not be missed.

And the Mercenaries is way underrated. There is a lot more content here than mode from 4&5 ever contained. Lots of unlockables, perks and different missions that were never part of the home console versions.

Thanks! I know that many people mentioned Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars as an excellent launch title for the 3DS. I was never much of a fan of the strategy genre so I skipped over it but I will definitely try to give it a look sometime.

As for Mercenaries, it really is underrated. There’s a ton of gameplay packed into the game, whether you’re playing solo or with a buddy online. The added perks really add a more strategic approach before entering a mission and the fact that you can change up your weapon set is a nice touch as well.

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[…] and still come back to it, even after clocking in over 35 hours. Back in August, I wrote up the Nintendo 3DS Essential Games Guide that was basically my thoughts on which games every 3DS owner should own, broken down to specific […]